Car-router



(No Model.) q

J. H. 000K.

OAR ROUTER.

No. 390,283. Patented 001:. 2, 188B.

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\X/JTNEESEIEI- INVENTUR Jose hHem' Ubok.

. 1TTL7RNE A N4 PETERS, Phofiaulhognphar. Washington D. C.

NITED Smarts "@i rrrcia.

JOSEPH HENRY COOK, OF ROANOKE, VIRGINIA.

@AR ROUTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,283, dated October 2, 1888.

Application filed May 14, 1888. Serial No. 273,827. No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J ossrrr HENRY Coon, a citizen of the United States, residing at Roanoke,in the county of Roanoke and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Routers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and-ere act description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form apart ofthis specification.

My invention is a device for carding railroad-cars to indicate the route of the same,and may be properly called the car-router, and is calculated to facilitate the movement of rail road-cars while upon the lines of other railroad companies than the one to which they belong, and is intended to produce a prompt handling and an increased service of such cars by indicating which one of the various possible routes the car to which it is applied shall pass over to reach the home road.

At all points where the lines of two railroads intersect there is greater or less interchange of freightcars according to the volume of business. It is the custom of railroad companies to return a car of another company to the same connecting-road from which it was originally received, and, to avoid confusion and its consequent delay to cars, it is necessary to place upon each car, as it is received, some mark indicating theintersecting point to which it must be returned. My inventionthe car-routeris calculated and intended to give this information in concentrated and uniform shape.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of my invention. Fig. 2 is a face view of the frame of my invention, the right-hand plate,B,being removed. Fig. 3 is an edge View of the right-hand side of my invention,the same being cut through on the line :0 m. Fig. 4 is a face view of the right-hand plate. Fig. 5 is a face view of the movable notched plate and eccentric lock. Fig. 6 is an edge view of the lower half of the frame, the same being cut through on the liney y. Fig. 7 is a face view of one of the cards.

My invention is described as follows:

The two sides A B of the frame are grooved on their inner edges, or are so constructed of one or more pieces as to leave the said grooves a b in their inner edges. These side pieces, A B, are held together by end pieces, 0 D. In the groove a in the left plate, A, is secured a notched plate, to, having on its inner edge in clined notches a". In the groove b of plate B is a movable notched plate, I), having inclined notches a", similar to and corresponding with the notches in the plate a. The said plate I) has passing vertically through its center a perforation, 6 In said perforation there is pivoted an eccentric look, if, operated by a key, 6*. Said eccentric lock serves to move the said plate 6 back to the right, thus releasing the cards E from the grasp of said plates a I), and also to move said plate inward, and locking said cards securely in said frame. Said plate I) is prevented from being pushed too far inwardly by means of the shoulders c, which impinge against either end of said plate, and said plate is held inwardly against said shoulders by means of the springs d, the backs of which rest against the bottom of the groove [2, and the ends against the rear edge of the said movable plate b. The said frame is made large enough to hold a sufficient number of cards to indicate every junction through which the car must pass on its outward and homeward trip. The said iron cards bear the ini tials of the delivering railroad and the names of the station at which delivery is made. These cards fit neatly between the toothed edges of the said plates at b. The agent of railroad companies at each point where there is an interchange of cars with some other railroad will be supplied with a number of these cards E, and on each car on its outgoing trip will be placed in said iron frame one of said cards, which will be removed upon the return of said ear.

To illustrate the working of my invention, I will represent the name of the railroads by letters, and the name of the junction-stations by figures. Thus a car owned by As company and loaded at a point on his railroad with a shipment destined to a point on the line of Ps railroad would pass over sixteen railroads and through sixteen junction stations. The agent at each junction-station, as the car passes his station, will insert a card bearing the name of his station and the initials of the railroad for which he is agent, so that the carrouter upon the car reaching its destination would contain the initials of every railroad over which the car had passed and the name of everyjunction-station through which it had passed. The agent at PS station, the station to which said car had been destined, would start the car ho meward by the route over which it had passed, as indicated by the car-router, and as it passed each junction-station on its return homeward each junction'agent would remove his respective card until the car was safely returned to the railroad company to which it belonged.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. The combination of the groove-plates A B, held together by the end plates,0 D,notched plate a, secured in the groove of the plate A, movable plate 1), working in the groove of the plate B, and cards E, fitting in said grooves a b and between the said notches or a, substantially as shown and described, and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of the groove-plates A B, held together by the end plates,C D, notched plate a, secured in the groove of the plate A, movable notched plate b,working in thegroove of the plate B, cards E, fitting in said grooves a b and between the said notches a a", springs d, holding said movable plate inward against the shoulders c, and eccentric look 6 adapted to lock and unlock said device, substantially as shown and described, and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH HENRY COOK.

Witnesses:

JAMES D. Mason, HARKENS J. PORTER. 

